Comments

Dear Mr. Moisi, I am afraid nationalism never really lost its dominant position in the heads of the Europeans, while only a postwar political elite well aware of the havoc caused by the inevitable nationalist rivalries did impose the project of European integration from above and mostly by stealth.

Eu Europe enters an almost existential crisis on multiple levels (massive non-EU immigration, economic crisis, inter-state growth discrepancies, increasing social inequalities, Russian aggression in Ukraine and threatening Russian posture against the Baltics, etc.), both political elites and the electorates tend to sideline the supranational institutions, while looking for past nationalist recipes as a solution to their fears or problems. The states always took great pain to make sure that ultimately the states remain the masters of the "treaties", and when required, national interests trump common European integration and the Bruseels prerogatives.

The Union is dead in it's tracks, paralyzing Europe, as long as the National governments call the shots, according to short sided national interests. Read more

Concerning your remark about the Dutch ' control over present day Belgium': "Present day Belgium was until the creation of the country, an integral part of the Nethtlands, as was, for instance the citys of Lille, Arras and even Abbeville, which were slowly confiscated by the French state during the centuries. Brussels had been for centuries the capital of the Netherlands. Read more

Dominique Moisi narrates the experience of his visit to the Dutch Rijksmuseum, when it reopened in 2013, after a decade long renovation. Here in this commentary he warns against "Europe's nationalist night watch", without elaborating the significance of Rembrandt's masterpiece, the "Night Watch", a painting that powerfully depicts democracy. If he sees similarity between populism and nationalism, than they are antithetical to true democracy.Moisi laments that the Dutch seem to have forgotten that their country was one of the "six original signatories of the Treaty of Rome", which established the European Economic Community, and which later was incorporated into the European Union. He points out that since the Dutch rejected the European Constitutional Treaty in 2005, they have "increasingly felt the need to celebrate their past glory in the most traditional manner". It's true that Rembrandt's "Night Watch" has come to epitomise Dutch national pride in modern history. However it's unfair to say that "the kind of glorification of the past on display in the renovated Rijksmuseum is a very bad sign".Sixty years ago European countries wanted to put their troubled past behind and "build a different kind of future" together. "By transcending national sovereignty, they hoped to protect themselves from a return to conflict and destruction". In fact the "Night Watch" ought to be seen as an icon of tolerance and diversity - an epitome of Europe's democracy, as the continent emerged from its dark period of history. It portrays not only what the Netherlands, but the whole Europe should hold dear - that people from all walks of life come together and acknowledge each other as individual and different. Rembrandt knew that the community he had in mind was vulnerable, as much as our modern day's. He demonstrates it in his painting with a little girl among the militias, and that the golden light falls on her to highlight the contrast between her and the ragtag bunch.So if Moisi sees the Dutch and other Europeans as "calling upon the past to compensate for the disillusion and frustration of the present and the uncertainty of the future", the painting, the "Night Watch" is a bad example to illustrate their psyche. He says that in light of the menaces and challenges, "we are losing faith that Europe is the answer" to ending the economics of austerity, and that the EU has "so far proved incapable of finding a common solution to the escalating refugee crisis that is coherent, firm, and in line with European values". Let ourselves be inspired by Rembrandt's "Night Watch"! He wanted that the golden light to perform magic, to give its beholders a sense of security, while defying darkness. Read more

Indeed the Professor hits the nail on the head.The narrative that Europe needs now is yet to be scripted - 1945:2015 R.I.P.The answers will come from those whose need for European strengths is greatest.Those who are desperately looking for salvation from strengths of the Union.Gone are the centuries where they migrated to America Australia Canada.Now the weakest looking for hope from Europe inside Europe.Brussels as the Capital of the Union, the ECB in its current version - are not delivering.Change must come from the Institutions that Capitals create.If not, perhaps the Union's Capital needs to change - not to Germany, but back to Greece.Where the pain is the highest, where hopes from the Union highest as well. Read more

The new Rijksmuseum is beautiful. And 200 years after our royal family got onto the throne they thought it made sense to show more about that time. I would have liked to see more about the first dutch king, Louis Napoleon. Now it became too much of a public relations effort for our current monarchy.

But compared to the tradional French sales pitch of its glorious past, I think these modifications are extremely moderate. Moisi is looking for elephants inside molehills, and then extrapolating those to a larger trend. Read more

Have to confess that I was terribly scared reading your article. Is really astonishing how strong is your absolute faith in the dogma that European integration and harmonisation is "totally" good and should be pursued at any rate. Why cannot we take european integration simply as a tool? If that tool does not deliver the expected results (and it is clear that is not delivering) it should then be democratically discussed in order to find a different solution. Your blind convintion on the total positive value of creating a "European nation" makes you even evoke the war as the only solution that can force the stubborn Europeans to merge together. I find this zeal terrifyng. On the contrary, if there is something that risks to cause the war is precisely the refusal to take note that European integration is terribly harmful and should be stopped. We europeans should live in harmony and peace as free and independent nations. Read more

To follow up on Mr. Moisi's thought, the EU would benefit greatly -- perhaps decisively -- if it could, in the next year or so, demonstrate it's ability to meet what many Europeans regard as an existential threat.

Interestingly, such a threat is at hand --outlined in Joshka Fischer's article here at PS: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/eu-migration-crisis-by-joschka-fischer-2015-08.

The immigration crisis is a pan-European problem that demands a pan-European solution, and has a great many Europeans regardless of their nationality deeply torn and deeply concerned. Unlike an economic problem, the immigration crisis is regarded as a threat to Europe's culture, not just its pocketbook.

If the Union can come together to find a constructive, balanced and humane approach to this crises -- an approach that may take considerable shared effort and considerable time -- it would serve as a practical demonstration (so badly needed right now) of the value of Union among the member states.

If the EU can not contribute to finding a common solution to this problem on the other hand, then perhaps the many disillusioned voices speaking out against union and for neonationalism are right, and it's time to abandon a failed project and move on. Read more

I am not sure EU is the answer. I look at countries such as Norway and Switzerland and I don't see them suffering outside the "union". Small, independent specialized brands can thrive outside corporations. People do not have to belong to clubs to realize their potential.

The Eu remains an opaque and quasi democratic organization. It might benefit the movement of capital and people and it has apparently worked miracles for corporate capitalism but the average European citizen is not much better off than it was before.

If I had interests in a labor intensive industry and was looking to keep my costs down over the next 100 or so years I'd be all pro EU but right now I see my neighborhood become unrecognizable, my welfare state raided by an endless river of immigrants and soon enough I will have to endure endless hours of security checks in order to board a regular commuter bus.

PS On Air: The Super Germ Threat

NOV 2, 2016

In the latest edition of PS On
Air
, Jim O’Neill discusses how to beat antimicrobial resistance, which
threatens millions of lives, with Gavekal Dragonomics’ Anatole Kaletsky
and Leonardo Maisano of
Il Sole 24 Ore.

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